Airline ticket payment and reservation system and methods

ABSTRACT

A method for accepting payments from a consumer for a travel ticket from a travel company comprises receiving at a point of sale device a transaction request that includes a transaction identifier that identifies a travel arrangement made with the travel company and a payment amount. The payment amount and the transaction identifier is transmitted to a host computer system for validation. Also, a validation from the host computer system is received indicating that the transaction requested has been validated. A payment is received from the consumer, and at least a portion of the payment is electronically transmitted to the travel company.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/767,365 filed Jan. 28, 2004 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,117,183) which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/444,111, filed May21, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/112,258, filed Mar. 29, 2002 (U.S. Pat. No.7,107,249), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.10/007,701, filed Dec. 10, 2001 and of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/990,702, filed Nov. 9, 2001 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,092,916) which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/823,697, filed Mar.31, 2001, the complete disclosures of which are all incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to financial transaction systemsand methodologies, and in particular to methods and systems for makingpayments and consummating staged transactions based on a consumer ortransaction identification. In one particular aspect, the inventionrelates to making payments for travel tickets, such as an airlineticket, following the making of the reservation.

A wide variety of payment methods are available to consumers of goodsand services. In addition to currency, consumers are often able to usetheir credit in making purchases. A common system for making creditpurchases involves the use of a credit card provided by a credit cardissuer, such as a commercial bank or other financial institution.Non-credit transactions can be handled by debit cards, which utilizefunds already deposited by the consumer for payment purposes.

Many types of payment methodologies are dependent upon consumers havingrelationships with financial institutions such as banks, credit unions,etc. However, a substantial percentage of consumers do not use suchconventional financial institutions. These consumers are often referredto as “unbanked” because they do not maintain accounts with suchinstitutions. Unbanked consumers are often inconvenienced in makingfinancial transactions. For example, without bank accounts, theyexperience difficulty and inconvenience in obtaining negotiableinstruments, making purchases on credit, etc.

Other consumers may not feel comfortable providing or sending personalinformation, such as credit card numbers, over the telephone orinternet. Such consumers may desire an alternative method of renderingpayment. Still other consumers may have had an attempted payment denied,such as by attempting to render payment using a credit card that is ator over the maximum limit available to the consumer, or the like. Toassist consumers in these situations, as well as others, an alternativepayment scheme(s) may be desired.

Recently there have been a variety of new products which provide atleast partial solutions to the problems of the unbanked and otherconsumers. For example, “prepay” cards allow consumers to pre-purchasevarious goods and services. An important example relates to the use oftelecommunications services, which are available through prepaid“calling cards.” Many consumers prepay on a monthly basis for “dialtone” service. Prepaid cards can also be reloadable whereby additionalvalue can be added by consumers for using their cards indefinitely.Another system involves the use of a service provider making payments onbehalf of consumers over the Internet global computer network or bynegotiable instrument. While these solutions address some of the needsof the unbanked, there remain other needs that have not been addressed.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for solutions to address problemsincurred by the unbanked and other consumers. Hence, among a number ofother advantages apparent from the following description, the presentinvention provides systems and methods for addressing such problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the invention provides a method for acceptingpayments from a consumer for a travel ticket from a travel company. Sucha reservation may be made with the travel company using any of thetechniques known in the art, such as by calling the travel company,accessing a web site, using a travel agent, and the like. Once thereservation is made, the consumer is given a transaction identifier (orrecord locator) and a payment amount. If the consumer wishes to pay incash (or using another form of payment—such as a credit card—but doesnot want to give confidential information over the Internet or thephone), the consumer may go to a money transfer location to make thepayment.

At a point of sale device or other computer, a transaction request isreceived that includes the transaction identifier that identifies thetravel arrangement made with the travel company and a payment amount.The payment amount and the transaction identifier are transmitted to ahost computer system for validation. This may be accomplished by havingthe host computer system transmit the transaction identifier to thetravel reservation system. If the identifier is located, a confirmationis sent back to the host computer system along with an expected payment.If the expected payment is the same as the payment amount, a validationis received from the host computer system indicating that thetransaction requested has been validated. The consumer may then make therequired payment, and information on the payment is transmitted to thehost computer system. In turn, the host computer system may arrange toelectronically transmit at least a portion of the payment to the travelcompany.

Following payment, a confirmation may be transmitted to the travelcompany that the payment was made by the consumer. Conveniently, thepayment may be deposited into a bank account of the travel company.

In another feature, the validation may further include the expectedpayment in a currency where the point of sale device is located. In thisway, the payment may be made in a local currency. Also, if the expectedpayment does not match the payment amount, an error message may betransmitted to the point of sale device. The payment amount may then bere-entered at the point of sale device.

Once payment has been made, a confirmation may be provided to theconsumer. This may be a paper receipt or in some cases a travel ticket.The receipt may give information about how the consumer may obtain aticket.

In another feature, the transaction request may includes the consumer'sname. This may be kept on file, and in some cases could be checkedagainst a suspicious person's database.

The invention also includes a travel reservation system, a host computersystem, and a point of sale system to facilitate such transactions andpayments.

In another embodiment, the invention provides systems and methods foraccepting payments for goods and services provided by a goods or serviceprovider. The methods can include associating consumers and merchantswith a payment provider. The payment provider can receive paymentsdestined for the merchant, associate the payments with one or moreidentifiers, and transfer at least portions of the received payments tothe merchant. Further, the present invention provides systems andmethods for enrolling consumers in such payment acceptance systems. Thepresent invention still further includes systems and methods for stagingtransactions initiated by a merchant, a consumer, a beneficiary, oranother third party.

The systems can include a point-of-sale device configured to acceptpayments from consumers on behalf of merchants. In some cases, thesystems include a plurality of such point-of-sale devices incommunication with a payment provider control. The payment providercontrol can be in communication with one or more merchant controls.Using such systems, a consumer can enroll to make payments via a paymentprovider and make payments via the payment provider by accessing any ofa number of point-of-sale devices associated with the payment providercontrol. The consumer alternatively may be able to enroll through themerchant or other third party.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for acceptingpayments from a consumer for a good or service provided by a merchantcomprises receiving a transaction request from the merchant, receiving apayment from the consumer, associating the payment with the transactionrequest, and sending at least a portion of the payment to the merchant.In this manner, the merchant stages the transaction, and the consumercompletes the transaction by making the payment. In one aspect, methodis performed by a payment provider system. In another aspect, the methodis performed by a point of service (POS) device. In still anotheraspect, the method is performed partly by the payment provider systemand partly by the POS device.

In one aspect, the method includes storing a record of the payment andthe associated transaction request in a database. Typically, themerchant desires to know when payment has been made prior to renderingthe service or shipping the goods. Hence, in one aspect, the methodincludes receiving an inquiry from the merchant as to whether thepayment was made by the consumer, and sending a reply to the merchant inresponse to the inquiry. Alternatively, the method includes providing anindication to the merchant that the payment was made by the consumer.This may occur, for example, prior to being prompted by the merchant.The method further may include electronically sending at least a portionof the payment to an account of the merchant. Another portion of thepayment may include a fee or surcharge for the staged transactionservice.

The transaction request may take a variety of forms within the scope ofthe present invention. For example, in one aspect the transactionrequest includes a consumer profile. In this embodiment, the method mayfurther include verifying a consumer identify against the consumerprofile. Alternatively, the consumer may remain anonymous. In anotheraspect, the transaction request includes a time limit. In thisembodiment, the payment may be accepted if received within the timelimit, and optionally rejected if not received within the time limit. Ifthe payment is rejected, in one embodiment the rejection is reported tothe merchant to help ensure the service or goods are not provided to thecustomer. The transaction request also may include a short or detaileddescription of the good(s) and/or service(s) to be provided theconsumer. The transaction request also includes, in some embodiments,the amount to be paid by the consumer.

In one aspect, the method includes providing the merchant with atransaction identifier that corresponds to the transaction request. Themethod may further include receiving the payment if the customerprovides the transaction identifier that corresponds to the transactionrequest. The transaction identifier may include, in one embodiment, analpha-numeric string of characters.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to provide the customer with aconfirmation that payment has been made. This confirmation may take manyforms, including a confirmation number and/or a printed receipt. In oneaspect, the confirmation includes a certificate. The certificate maycomprise a wide range of certificates, including a gift certificate, anelectronic ticket such as for use with a transportation company, anaward, a redeemable coupon, and the like. Thus, in some embodiments, thegood(s) and/or service(s) is rendered upon payment.

In still other embodiments, the processor of the payment transfer, suchas the payment provider, may guarantee the finds. This may be useful,for example, when the goods or services are to be provided to theconsumer upon the consumer rendering payment to the payment provider,but prior to transfer of the finds from the payment provider to themerchant. Other uses and reasons for guaranteed funds also fall withinthe scope of the present invention.

The present invention further includes systems for receiving paymentsfrom consumers. In one embodiment, the system includes a processor and astorage medium, with the storage medium having instructions executableby the processor to perform some or all of the described methods. In aparticular embodiment, the storage medium contains executableinstructions to receive a transaction request from the merchant, receivea payment entry from the consumer, associate the payment entry with thetransaction request, and send at least a portion of the payment to themerchant.

In one aspect, the storage medium further includes instructionsexecutable by the processor to compare a payment time limit to a time ofthe payment entry, and reporting a result to the merchant. The systemmay further include a printer adapted for printing a confirmation of thepayment entry. In another aspect, the storage medium includes executableinstructions to provide a first transaction identifier to the merchant,and wherein the receive payment process further comprises receiving thefirst transaction identifier.

In one embodiment, the processor and storage medium are included in apayment provider. This system further includes, in one aspect, a POSdevice coupled to the payment provider and adapted to transmit thetransaction request to the payment provider. In another aspect, thepayment provider includes a payment system having a database, andwherein the payment system is configured to permit the transactionrequest to be input and processed, and to send a transaction identifierto the merchant upon receipt of the transaction request.

In alternative embodiments, the transactions are requested and/or stagedby the consumer. In this manner, the consumer can initiate a transactionwith a merchant. In still other embodiments, a designated recipient isidentified to receive either the goods, the services, and or thepayment. In this manner, the transaction may be staged for the benefitof a number of entities or individuals, including the consumer.

In one embodiment, a method for accepting payments includes receiving atransaction request, reporting the transaction request, and associatinga transaction identifier with the transaction request. The methodincludes receiving a payment associated with the transaction identifier,and reporting the payment. In one embodiment, the payments are acceptedon behalf of a merchant. In this embodiment, the transaction request andthe payment are reported to the merchant. In some aspects, the“merchant” is an individual, such as an individual who is to receivefunds through a staged transaction. In other aspects, the transactionrequest is received from a third party, from a beneficiary of thetransaction, or the like. In still another aspect, the payment isreceived from a third party.

The summary provides only a general outline of the embodiments accordingto the present invention. Many other objects, features and advantages ofthe present invention will become more fully apparent from the followingdetailed description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention may be realized by reference to the figures which aredescribed in remaining portions of the specification. In the figures,like reference numerals are used throughout several figures to refer tosimilar components. In some instances, a sub-label consisting of a lowercase letter is associated with a reference numeral to denote one ofmultiple similar components. When reference is made to a referencenumeral without specification to an existing sub-label, it is intendedto refer to all such multiple similar components.

FIGS. 1A-1B are schematic diagrams of payment service and/or enrollmentsystems in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a logical diagram of a payment service and/or enrollmentsystem similar to the systems illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A-3B are flow diagrams for processing payments in accordance withembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one method in accordance with thepresent invention for paying for a good or service;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a service activation methodaccording to the invention; and

FIGS. 6-9 are flow diagrams illustrating additional embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a system for making travelreservations and for facilitating payments for travel arrangementsaccording to the invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for making travelreservations and making payments for such reservations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as arepresentative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailedstructure.

Among other things, the present invention provides systems and methodsfor accepting payments for goods and/or services offered by a thirdparty provider. In some embodiments, the present invention providessystems and methods for enrolling consumers in goods and/or servicesprovided by a third party provider. As further discussed below, suchthird party providers of goods and/or services are referred to herein as“merchants” and those accepting payments and providing enrollmentservices are referred to as “payment providers.”

Referring to FIG. 1A, an enrollment and payment system 100 isillustrated that may be used to facilitate payments made to purchasegoods or services, and/or provide enrollment services in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention. System 100 includes apoint-of-sale (“POS”) device 110 in communication with a paymentprovider control 130 via a communication network 120. In addition,payment provider control 130 is communicably coupled to one or moremerchant controls 140 via communication network 120. Payment providercontrol 130 is associated with a payment provider database 135 andmerchant controls 140 are associated with merchant databases 145. Aswill be evident from the proceeding discussion, system 100 can includeany number of POS devices 110 and merchant controls 140 in accordancewith the various embodiments of the present invention.

POS device 110 can be any device disposed at the point-of-sale. POSdevice 110 may be any device capable of reading information frompresentation instruments or entered through other input device andtransmitting the information through a communication link, such as anetwork, to a processing system, such as a host computer system. In someembodiments, the POS device 110 comprises a reader, such as a mag stripereader, a smart chip reader, a bar code reader, or the like, incombination with a computing device. Thus, POS device 110 can be onesuch as is described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/634,901, entitled “POINT OF SALE PAYMENT SYSTEM,” filed Aug. 9, 2000and U.S. Prov. Appl. No. 60/147,899, entitled “INTEGRATED POINT OF SALEDEVICE,” filed Aug. 9, 1999, both of which are incorporated herein byreference for all purposes. Based on the description provided herein,one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize other devices capable ofoperating as POS device 110. For example, POS device 110 can be apersonal computer (“PC”), a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), otherwired or wireless devices, and the like.

As used herein, a merchant is any individual, group of individuals, orentity that offers or has provided goods and/or services to consumers.Further, such merchants may use merchant controls 140 to maintainaccounts and other information related to the consumers that they serve.Such merchant controls 140 can be any type of computer capable ofcommunicating with other types of communication devices or computers.For example, merchant control 140 can be a mainframe computer, such asthose available from Tandem, a server computer, a personal computer, aPDA, other wired or wireless devices, hand held devices, and the like.

In some cases, merchants are incapable of, or choose not to acceptpayments directly from consumers, or a particular group of consumers.These payments may be fixed payments, or variable payments, within thescope of the present invention. Thus, in some instances, a merchant maydesire to outsource payment services to a payment provider.Alternatively, a merchant may accept payments from consumers with goodcredit, while it may desire to outsource payment acceptance forconsumers with poor credit to a payment provider. As yet anotheralternative, a merchant may accept non-cash payments directly, whiledeferring cash collections to be handled via a payment provider. Someexamples of merchants include, but are not limited to, a phone company,an electric company, a credit card company, a televised shoppingnetwork, an airline or other transportation company, a retail store, andthe like.

In other cases, the merchant is an individual. For example, theindividual-merchant may be a seller using an on-line auction web site tosell an item, or a large number of items. In this embodiment, theconsumer is a buyer or “high bidder” that may be directed to a paymentlocation near them to facilitate rapid payment. Other examples involvingan individual as a merchant also exist within the scope of the presentinvention, including individuals selling item(s) or product(s) viaon-line or print classified advertisements, or the like.

Thus, for whatever reason, a merchant may choose to utilize a paymentprovider to collect payments and/or enroll consumers on its behalf.Thus, as used herein, a payment provider is any entity that is capableof accepting payments from consumers and/or enrolling consumers, andcrediting the accepted payments to the appropriate merchant. In somecases, a payment provider is an entity that provides both POS device 110and payment provider control 130. In other cases, a payment provider isan entity that provides payment provider control 130, and accepts inputsfrom POS devices 110 operated by third parties. In yet other cases, apayment provider is an entity that provides POS device 110 thatinteracts directly with merchant controls 140 without utilizing paymentprovider control 130. Further, in some cases a payment provider can alsobe an enrollment provider, where the payment provider not only acceptspayments destined for the merchant, but also enrolls consumers in thegoods and/or services of the merchant. In yet other instances, a paymentprovider can provide only enrollment and not payment acceptanceservices.

In some embodiments of the present invention, merchants 140 issue uniqueidentifiers which are associated with a good or service that areelectronically transmitted to payment provider 130, where they can bestored in database 135. These identifiers may be associated withspecific consumers. For example, when requesting a good or service, themerchant may create an account, an identifier is then associated withthe account and issued to the consumer. Alternatively, the identifiersmay be associated with a good or service, but not to any given consumer.For example, the identifiers may be associated with some type of storedvalue, such as phone time, dollars and the like. This value may beredeemed simply by presenting the identifier to the merchant. Theidentifiers also may be associated with a particular transaction ofgoods or services between a merchant, and a specific consumer as furtherdetailed below.

Communication network 120 can be any network capable of transmitting andreceiving information in relation to POS device 110, merchant controls140, and payment provider controls 130. For example, communicationnetwork 120 can comprise a TCP/IP compliant virtual private network(“VPN”), the Internet, a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network(“WAN”), a telephone network, a cellular telephone network, an opticalnetwork, a wireless network, or any other similar communication network.

In some embodiments, communication network 120 is a combination of avariety of network types. For example, in one embodiment, communicationnetwork comprises the Internet for communicating between POS device 110and payment provider control 130, and a dial-up network forcommunicating between payment provider control 130 and merchant controls140. In light of this document, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize a number of other network types and/or combinations thereofthat are capable of facilitating communications between the variouscomponents of system 100.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a logical diagram of system 100 of FIG. 1A isillustrated. Central to system 100 is payment provider control 130. Inparticular embodiments, payment provider control 130 is comprised of ahost computer capable of accessing one or more databases 135. Further,payment provider control 130 facilitates data transfer between one ormore merchants 140 and one or more POS devices 110, or other computerterminals. Payment provider control 130 can be any type of computercapable of communicating with other types of communication devices orcomputers. For example, payment provider 130 can be a mainframecomputer, such as those available from Tandem, a server computer, or thelike.

POS devices 110 communicate with payment provider control 130 in orderto facilitate transactions. For example, when ready to make a payment, aconsumer may enter their consumer identifier or a transaction identifierinto POS device 110. This information is transmitted to payment providercontrol 130 where any relevant information regarding the requiredpayment is transmitted back to POS device 110. For instance, POS devices110 may present a screen with the identifier and the amount of paymentrequired to receive a good or service from merchant 140. In some cases,the consumer may not yet have an identifier and may simply request topurchase a good or service from a merchant 140. For instance, theconsumer may wish to purchase phone time from a certain phone company.In such cases, the consumer makes a request to purchase phone time froma certain merchant 140. This information is entered into POS device 110.POS device 110 may then display payment options for that provider asreceived from payment provider control 130. For example, payment inincrements of $5, $10, $25 and $50 may be accepted. Upon receipt ofpayment, an identifier is issued to the consumer. Conveniently, aprinter 110 may print a receipt with the identifier.

At the time of payment, other funds may also be collected. For example,the payment provider may charge and collect a fee for its services. Asanother example, applicable taxes may be calculated and collected. Thesetaxes may be calculated by payment provider control 130 in combinationwith database 135 and may include tax tables for various locationsthroughout the country. When tendering payment, the consumer may provideinformation on his residential address, such as a zip code. Thisinformation is transmitted to payment provider control 130 that performsa look-up in database 135 to determine the appropriate tax rate. Paymentprovider control 130 then computes the tax and sends the tax informationto POS 110. The payment amount, taxes, and any service fees may then bedisplayed to the consumer on a display screen. Alternatively, the taxesmay be computed directly by POS device 110 and based on the location ofPOS device 110, or in part by POS device 110 and in part by paymentprovider control 130.

Upon tendering payment, an electronic record of the payment along withthe associated identifier is transmitted to payment provider control 130where it may be stored in database 135. This payment information mayalso be transmitted to merchant control 140 so that the good or servicemay be provided to the consumer. If the services relate totelecommunications or other utilities, the payment information may alsobe sent from payment provider control 130 to a switch 150 to permit thecommunications service or utility to be promptly provided. For example,if the consumer purchased cell phone time, the merchant's switch wouldreceive the payment information and add time to the phone, typicallybefore the consumer leaves the location where payment is made. Ofcourse, the instructions to the switch could also be sent from themerchant as well. Receipt of payment information may also trigger theproviding of other services, such as service activation, shipping oforder goods, and the like. In some cases, the service may not beactivated or the ordered good not provided until the consumer contactsthe merchant and gives the issued identifier. For example, phone timemay be purchased, but not activated until the phone company is contactedand given the identifier. When the good is a stored value, this recordmay be stored in database 135 and transmitted to merchant control 140.When a good or service is ordered from a merchant, the identifier ispresented to the merchant control 140 associated with the merchant andthe stored value account is debited for the purchase price.

In another embodiment, the merchant or other third party initiates thetransaction with the consumer. The merchant may obtain some or allrequired information from the consumer, and input that information intoa POS device 110 linked to payment provider control 130. The merchantmay also input information on the goods or services to be provided, andobtain a transaction identifier to provide to the customer. The customercontacts the payment provider control 130 to effectuate payment. Paymentmay occur in a variety of ways, including without limitation, by cash,check, credit card, stored value card or account, money order, ACH, andthe like. The merchant then ships or otherwise provides the goods orservices when notified that the consumer has paid. The merchant may benotified, for example, by payment provider control 130.

Payment provider control 130 may also be used to electronically transferthe payment along with any collected taxes to the merchant. This mayconveniently occur by an ACH transfer of funds into a bank account 160of the merchant. This may occur upon receipt of the payment informationby payment provider control 130 or by batch mode at specified times. Arecord of the deposit may separately be transmitted to merchant control140. Payment provider control 130 is configured to communicate with aseparate ACH system that debits the account of the consumer and creditsthe account of the merchant as is known in the art.

In some embodiments, payment provider control 130 maintains creditinformation about consumers, or has the ability to access such creditinformation from other sources including, but not limited to, merchantcontrol 140. Thus, for example, a particular consumer may have very poorcredit or no credit, in which case the merchant may require full paymentprior to supplying the good or service.

Hence, system 100 provides consumers with an easy way to purchase goodsor services. Further, such goods and services are provided in anefficient manner and provides rapid payment to the merchant. Anotherfeature of system 100 is that the merchant may also be provided withaccess to payment provider control 130. In this way, the merchant may doa look-up to see if a payment was posted correctly, to see the status ofa payment or the like. Further, regular updates may be sent frommerchant control 140 to payment provider control 130 so that consumeraccounts may be kept current.

In yet other instances, system 100 can be used to enroll consumers inproducts and/or services offered by one or more merchants. In such asituation, POS device 110 can display product offerings associated withone or more merchants. Such information can be obtained from paymentprovider control 130. Further, POS device 110 can gather enrollmentinformation and payments for enrollment, and based on informationprovided by payment provider control 130, can provide consumers withactivated accounts for goods and services provided from a particularmerchant. These and other features of system 100 are discussed ingreater detail below.

Referring to FIG. 2, another embodiment of system 100 is illustratedincluding discussion of additional elements. As shown, system 100includes payment provider control 130 for facilitating payment from aconsumer 190 to one or more merchants represented by merchant controls140.

Each consumer 190 has a unique identifier or ID 180, which can compriseany suitable identifier. Conventional identifiers such as name, socialsecurity number, PIN, etc. are acceptable. Moreover, system 100 canaccommodate anonymous consumers 190. Such consumers 190 can maintaintheir anonymity by creating their own IDs 180. ID 180 can also comprisethe consumer's telephone number. Thus, system 100 can be used for payingfor telephone services using only the telephone number of consumer 190for identification purposes. Consumer 190 in this embodiment does noteven have to provide an address or any other personal information.Similar identification arrangements could be used with other merchants(e.g., accepting payments on accounts with the consumers identified bytheir respective account numbers). Consumer 190 interfaces with paymentprovider control 130 through an interface 12. Interface 12 can compriseany suitable form or device for communications, including telephone(which can incorporate voice recognition (VR)), worldwide web(Internet), mail, in-person, a point-of-sale (POS) terminal with a cardreader, e-mail or any other suitable interface. As with the previousembodiments, interface 12 can be a POS device 110. Further, in someembodiments, POS device 110 can be installed at a retail outletunrelated to any of various merchant controls 140 and/or paymentprovider controls 130 accessible via system 100.

In this particular embodiment, payment provider control 130 includes anagent network 160, where agents in the network provide POS devices 110at locations accessible to consumer 190. Payment provider control 130maintains merchant accounts 175 which can correspond to the variousmerchants represented by merchant controls 140. Each merchant control140 can have associated therewith a database 145 containing pertinentinformation regarding the consumers 190 and their respective accounts.The designation of accounts, sub-accounts, master accounts, etc. canvary from merchant to merchant. Thus, as used herein the terms account,sub-account and similar terms can designate either the entire accountbase of a particular merchant control 140, or the individual account ofconsumer(s) 190.

In one embodiment, agent network 160 comprises a host computer (notshown) that may be accessed by a variety of remote computers or otherdevices, such as those described in connection with interface 12. Forexample, the host computer may comprise a mainframe computer, a servercomputer, or the like. A database may also be associated with the hostcomputer. In this way, information from consumer databases 145 may betransmitted to the host computer and stored in the database. When aconsumer 190 contacts agent network 160, it may be through the hostcomputer. Hence, with this configuration, a consumer may proceed with atransaction using interface 12 which contacts the host computer of agentnetwork 160 to receive consumer information, such as the uniqueidentifier, and to transmit payment information back to the hostcomputer. The host computer may also serve to coordinate a wire transferof the payment to a bank account of the merchant as well as to transmitpayment information to merchant control 140. Electronic funds transfersmay conveniently be made through an automated clearing house (ACH)system that is contacted by the host computer. ACH transfers are wellknown within the art and will not be described further.

It should be recognized that in some embodiments, a card 170 can beissued to consumer 190 and include various information relevant toconsumer transactions. Card 170 can be used to facilitate payments viaPOS device 110. More particularly, card 170 can include a magneticstripe that can be swiped through a card reader associated with POSdevice 110 and used to identify consumer 190 to system 100. Eitheralternatively or in addition, card 170 can comprise a reloadable/storedvalue card, a credit card, a debit card, or the like. Thus, any suitablecard configuration can be utilized. For example, preprinted cards withconcealed consumer IDs 180 can be inventoried with the agent network 160for distribution upon enrollment of consumers 190. However, system 100can function without any cards whatsoever. In such embodiments, system100 can function by assigning unique consumer IDs 180 for purposes ofconducting all payment transactions.

In some embodiments of the present invention, consumers are enrolled topurchase goods and/or services offered by a merchant. Such a service caninclude purchase of a money order, payment of a utility bill,effectuating a money transfer, payment for a good or service offered bythe merchant, or the like.

With the consumer interacting with POS device 110, it is predictivelydetermined what type of goods and/or services to market to the consumer.Such a predictive determination can include identifying goods orservices related to the transaction previously performed using POSdevice 110. For example, the consumer may be purchasing a cell phone, inwhich case POS device 110 can advertise a cell phone charger to theconsumer or cell phone service offered by one or more merchants. Asanother example, where a consumer is setting up service with an electriccompany, POS device 110 can surmise that the consumer recently moved. Insuch a circumstance POS device 110 may advertise other services usefulto a person that recently moved. For example, POS device 110 canadvertise voter registration, enrollment with other utility companies,applications for a driver's license, new license plates, and othersimilar goods and services.

Alternatively, or in addition, POS device 110 and/or payment providercontrol 130 may maintain a historical record of transactions performedin relation to a particular consumer. This historical information can beanalyzed to determine which goods or services that the consumer would bemost likely receptive. Further, the information can be analyzed todetermine goods and services for which the consumer is qualified. Forexample, it may be determined that a consumer consistently purchases agood that is offered in a larger quantity directly from a merchant at areduced price. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate a numberof other analysis that may be used to predict goods or services to bemarketed to a particular consumer.

Where a request to enroll in a particular good or service is received,POS device 110 displays a request to the consumer for requiredenrollment information. Such enrollment information can be similar andgathered in similar fashion to that discussed in the precedingembodiment. As an example, such enrollment information can include thename, address, and telephone number of a consumer desiring to set up anaccount with an electric company. It will be appreciated that any levelof information can be requested depending upon the type of goods orservices requested.

Some embodiments of the methods include an additional step of creating aclient database. Such a client database can be the database used by aparticular merchant to account for services and/or products provided inrelation to consumers. Further, such a database can include identifiersunique to each of the consumers within the database as well as accountbalances and credit histories of each of the consumers. Such a databasecan be formatted for transfer to payment provider control 130. Bytransferring at least a portion of the information on the database topayment provider control 130, consumers in the merchant's database canautomatically be enrolled with the payment provider. The consumers canalso be notified of the enrollment and directed to the nearest paymentprovider location(s) at which they can make payments. Additional detailson enrollment methods and systems are provided in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/112,258, the complete disclosure of which hasbeen previously incorporated herein by reference.

FIGS. 3-8 illustrate a variety of methods in accordance with the presentinvention and to which embodiments of system 100 can be applied. Turningto FIGS. 3A-3B, embodiments of the present invention can be used, eitheradditionally or exclusively, to accept and process payments in relationto various goods and services provided by merchants. Referring to FIG.3A, a flow diagram 300 illustrates one method of accepting payments inaccordance with the present invention. Following flow diagram 300,information about the consumer desiring to make a payment is input toPOS device 110 (block 302). Such information can be very minimal, suchas, an auction number and payment amount where the consumer desires toremain anonymous. Alternatively, the information can be an identifierpreviously provided by the merchant to identify payments made by theconsumer. In other situations, the information can be quite extensiveincluding, but not limited to, the consumer's name, address, telephonenumber and account number for the account of the merchant to which apayment is to be applied. Based on this disclosure, one of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate the information that can be collectedfrom a consumer to make a payment on a particular account.

In some embodiments, the information can be provided to POS device 110automatically. For example, the information can be entered using amagnetic stripe card reader associated with POS device 110.Alternatively, a small amount of information about the consumer can beentered via a keyboard associated with POS device 130 and the remainderof the information about the consumer automatically populated fromdatabase 135 via payment provider 130.

Once the consumer information has been provided, the information is usedto identify and verify the consumer (block 304). In some embodiments,this includes displaying the received information via a displayassociated with POS device 110. The consumer is then expected to reviewthe information for accuracy, and press a key indicating that theinformation is complete. In other embodiments, identifying and verifyingthe consumer includes accessing payment provider control 130, andcomparing the identification information received from the consumeragainst information maintained on database 135. The informationmaintained on database 135 can include account balances for the consumerrelated to one or more merchants, as well as other information.

In one particular embodiment, the consumer is identified and in additionprovides a merchant identification via POS device 110. This informationis transferred to payment provider control 130 via network 120. Paymentprovider control 130 accesses the account information associated withthe consumer and transfers the account information to POS device 110where it is displayed to the consumer via a display and/or a printedreceipt. Thus, in some embodiments, it is possible for a consumer toobtain account information related to one or more merchants from apayment provider.

After the consumer is identified and verified, the consumer tenderspayment to the payment provider (block 306). This can be done by handingcash to a merchant operating POS device 110, by swiping a credit cardthrough a magnetic stripe card reader associated with POS device 110, byauthorizing a bank transfer using POS device 110, or any other method oftendering payment. Once the payment is received, POS device 110transfers an indication that payment was received and the amount ofreceived payment to payment provider control 130 via network 120. Insome embodiments, payment provider control 130 responds via network 120with an indication that the payment was received. POS device 110 alsoprints a receipt for the consumer (block 308). The receipt can include avariety of information, such as, the account for which payment wasreceived, the amount of the payment, and even advertisements.

In embodiments where payment provider control 130 maintains informationrelated to the consumer's account, the amount of the received payment iscredited to the account. Payment provider control 130 credits thepayment to the associated merchant (block 310). This can be done by wiretransfer from the payment provider to a bank account associated with themerchant. Other methods may also be used to effectuate such a transfer.In addition, payment provider control 130 provides a notification ofpayments and associated accounts to merchant control 140 via network 120(block 312). In turn, merchant control 140 updates the account balanceof the consumer from which the payment was received.

In particular embodiments, the processes listed in block 310 areperformed sometime after the processes listed in block 312. Thus, forexample, a consumer may make a payment, and shortly thereafter thepayment is reflected on their account with the merchant. Then, sometimelater, the funds associated with the payment are actually transferred tothe merchant. In an alternative embodiment, the payment is reflected inthe merchant account in real-time, upon the customer making the payment.In another embodiment, the funds transfer to the merchant account occursin real-time, or through some other physical or electronic means.

As will be appreciated from the foregoing discussion, such an approachto accepting and processing payments provides a number of advantages. Asjust one of the advantages, an unbanked consumer can make cash paymentson an account with a merchant remote from the consumer. Thus, a consumerno longer needs to send cash through the mail. As yet another advantage,a consumer that promises payment but ultimately fails to pay can insteadbe directed to a payment provider location near them to make thenecessary payment. Thus, the aforementioned systems and methods canavoid “the check is in the mail” syndrome or similar broken promises topay. Further, a consumer that desires to purchase goods, but would liketo remain anonymous, can tender a cash payment via the payment provider,and thus avoid being traced by credit card or check information. Suchmethods also can be used to make multiple payments across multiplemerchants. Thus, a consumer need only enter a single transaction to paya number of bills. Yet further, a consumer that is nearly late in payingcan go to a local payment provider, tender payment, and have the paymentimmediately credited to their account, thus avoiding any late fees. Moreparticularly, a consumer with a credit card bill due the next day canavoid late fees, or the necessity of sending payment via an overnightexpress service, by using a payment provider where the credit cardcompany is affiliated with and accepts payment via the payment provider.Based on the disclosure herein, one of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize a myriad of other advantages associated with the systems andmethods disclosed herein.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a flow diagram 301 illustrates another method ofaccepting payments in accordance with the present invention. Followingflow diagram 301, information about the consumer desiring to make apayment is input to POS device 110 (block 303). As with the previousembodiment, the information obtained from the consumer depends upon thetransaction being completed and can be determined by the merchant and/orthe payment provider.

Once the consumer information has been provided, the information is usedto identify and verify the consumer (block 305). This identification andverification is similar to that discussed in relation to FIG. 3A. Afterthe consumer is identified and verified, the consumer tenders payment tothe payment provider (block 306), again, similar to the manner discussedin relation to FIG. 3A.

Once the payment is received, POS device 110 transfers an indicationthat payment was received and the amount of received payment to paymentprovider control 130 via network 120. In some embodiments, paymentprovider control 130 responds via network 120 with an indication thatthe payment was received. Payment provider control 130 credits thereceived payment to the merchant (block 315), and provides anidentifier, or PIN, to the consumer (block 317). The PIN is unique tothe payment. Thus, a block of funds can be transferred to the merchants,with portions of the funds being associated with various PINs. In someembodiments, at this point in the method, the merchant is not aware ofwhich consumers the funds are attributable.

POS device 110 also prints a receipt for the consumer (block 309). Thereceipt can include a variety of information, such as, the account forwhich payment was received, the amount of the payment, and evenadvertisements. In particular embodiments, the receipt includes anidentification number, or PIN, that is unique to the received payment.

The consumer can then contact the merchant directly and provide the PIN(block 311). With this information, the merchant can verify that the PINis valid and that a payment was received in association with the PIN.The amount of the payment associated with the PIN can then be creditedto the consumer's account (block 313).

Referring to FIG. 4, a method for pre-paying for a good or serviceaccording to the present invention is described in relation to flowdiagram 400. As illustrated by flow diagram 400, a consumer enrolls witha merchant to order a good or a service (block 420). For example,services that may be ordered include phone service, including phoneminutes, a stored value service, and the like. Goods that may bepurchased include essentially any type of good including retail items,clothing, furniture, sporting goods, cosmetics, toiletries, durablegoods, vehicles and the like.

When such an enrollment is requested, the merchant creates an electronicaccount to maintain a record of payments and supplied goods and/orservices provided to the consumer. Such an account can be maintained indatabase 145 of the merchant control 140 associated with the particularmerchant. The account may also include a historical record of theconsumer's behavior, and any other relevant information. In someinstances, an enrollment may only be for one particular purchase, whilein other cases an enrollment may be intended for a longer period andanticipate multiple or ongoing purchases.

In addition, a unique identifier is also associated with the account andincluded in the record to uniquely identify the request. This identifiermay be any type of identifier as previously described, including phonenumbers, order numbers, credit card numbers, social security numbers andthe like. In some instances where only a one-time purchase is to berecorded, the identifier is specific to the single transaction. However,in other instances, the identifier can be intended to designate theconsumer in any number of future transactions. In yet other instances,the identifier can designate both the consumer in ongoing transactionsand designate a particular transaction. Thus, for example, theidentifier may include a portion unique the consumer and reused acrossmultiple transactions, and another portion designating a particulartransaction.

The identifier is provided to the consumer along with instructions as towhere a payment may be made. The instructions indicate a location of aPOS device 110 associated with a payment provider control 130 capable ofaccepting payments for the particular merchant. In some embodiments, themerchant may access an affiliated payment provider control 130 via itsmerchant control 140 to request location information for a POS device110 that is convenient to the consumer. In one particular embodiment,the consumer's address is provided along with the request for locationinformation. Based on this address information, payment provider control130 identifies the nearest one or several (e.g., five) POS devices 110and provides this information to merchant control 140. In turn, thereceived location information is shared with the consumer.

After the consumer is enrolled (block 420), the identifier iselectronically sent from merchant control 140 to payment providercontrol 130 where it is stored in database 135 (block 422). Relevantaccount information is also provided to payment provider control 130,such that a consumer's account may be properly debited and/or creditedby payment provider control 130. When ready to make the payment, theconsumer goes to one of the previously indicated locations (or anotherlocation if the consumer so desires) and provides the identifier via thePOS device 110 at the location (block 424). After entry of theidentifier, POS device 110 transmits the identifier to payment providercontrol 130. Payment provider control 130 accesses the consumer'saccount based on the identifier, determines the amount to be tenderedfrom the consumer, and returns this determined amount to POS device 110.The amount is then displayed on POS device 110 where it can be viewed byeither or both of a merchant and the consumer. The determined amount canbe displayed along with any other fees associated with the transaction.

In some embodiments, payment provider control 130 calculates additionalcharges to be collected on behalf of the merchant. The additionalcharges may include, for example, federal, state and local sales taxes,shipping and handling charges, insurance, and the like. In anotherembodiment, the merchant has pre-calculated the necessary additionalcharges. Thus, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatthe reference to tax calculation and tax information in FIG. 4represents an embodiment of the present invention, but the invention isnot so limited.

The consumer then tenders payment to the merchant, or automatically viaPOS device 110 where such capability is provided. Upon tendering ofpayment (block 424), the amount of payment tendered is provided topayment provider control 130 via POS device 110. This paymentinformation is used to create an electronic record of the payment (block426). This payment information is then sent to merchant 140 associatedwith the merchant (block 428). In the case of a communications service,this information may also be sent to a switch (block 430). Thisinformation can then be used by the switch to immediately add time to acell phone account or provide other telecommunications features renderedby the switch.

A sum equal to the payment (and in some cases less a transaction feecharged to the merchant) is electronically wired to a bank account ofthe merchant (block 432). In some instances, the merchant proceeds tofulfill the purchase of the consumer prior to receipt of the wiretransfer. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the merchant is notifiedthat the payment has been received by payment provider control 130, uponwhich the merchant continues to fulfill the consumer's purchase. Sometime later, the wire transfer is completed. To fulfill the consumer'spurchase, an ordered good may be pulled from inventory and shipped tothe consumer or other recipient. Alternatively, a stored value accountmay be credited upon notification of payment.

In particular embodiments, the payment is not transferred from paymentprovider control 130 to the merchant until consumer 190 receivespurchased goods. Thus, in some instances, the present embodiment can beused as an escrow service. In such embodiments, consumer 190 can begiven a limited period after requesting goods using the identifier todispute the transaction and request return of the payment. If such adispute is not lodged within a predetermined time frame, the payment istransferred from payment provider control 130 to the merchant. If such adispute is lodged, the payment may be returned to consumer 190 wheresufficient evidence exists that the goods were either not received orreturned.

Various embodiments of the present invention also provide for activatinga service, such as phone service, utility service, newspaper deliver, orthe like. One example of such a process is illustrated as flow diagram500 of FIG. 5. As illustrated in flow diagram 500, a consumer contacts amerchant to request a service (block 546). An account is set up with themerchant and a record is created containing the information needed toprovide the service requested by the consumer. In some embodiments, theaccount is maintained in database 145 and accessible to the merchantcontrol 140 associated with the merchant. To pay for the service, theconsumer is instructed by the merchant to contact a payment provider.

At least some of this account information is transferred from merchantcontrol 140 to payment provider control 130 (block 548). The transferredaccount information can include the amount of payment needed to have therequested service activated and may be maintained in database 135associated with payment provider control 130.

The consumer then contacts the payment provider, tenders payment, andrequests that the payment be forwarded to the merchant (block 550).Payment may be tendered to a merchant associated with the paymentprovider. Further, in some cases, payment may be facilitated byaccessing POS device 110 located at a merchant location and incommunication with payment provider control 130. Additionally, POSdevice 110 can be used to access the account information maintained indatabase 135. A display screen on POS device 110 may display theappropriate account information along with the required payment and anyservice fee. The consumer then makes the payment as provided on thedisplay, and an identifier is issued to the consumer (block 552). Forexample, a receipt may be printed by a printer in communication with POSdevice 110 that includes the identifier. Conveniently, the identifiermay be assigned to the account by the merchant when the account iscreated.

The payment received from the consumer is then electronicallytransferred from the payment provider to a bank account of the merchant.This may be an ACH transfer processed under control of payment providercontrol 130. In addition, the payment information along with theidentifier, is electronically transferred from payment provider control130 to merchant control 140 (block 556). Upon receiving an indicationthat the payment has been received by the payment provider, the merchantmay then activate the requested service.

Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated as flowdiagram 600 of FIG. 6. As illustrated in diagram 600, a consumer agreesto purchase services and/or goods from a merchant (block 610). Themerchant collects consumer information to enter into the paymentprovider control (612). Information to be collected may include a widerange of consumer information including, among other things, theconsumer name, address, telephone number, social security number, andthe like. Some of the information may be entered into payment providercontrol 130. The merchant also may enter additional transaction relatedinformation, such as a description of the goods or services and theprice, including taxes and shipping costs if applicable. The informationentered into payment provider control 130, in one embodiment, defines atransaction request.

Entry of information, data, or a transaction request into paymentprovider control 130 may occur in a variety of ways through anyinterface 12 (FIG. 2). For example, entry may be made by entering intoPOS device 110, with or without a card reader, which is coupled topayment provider control 130. Alternatively, the merchant enters thetransaction request through merchant control 140, which is linked topayment provider control 130 via communication network 120 (as shown inFIG. 1A).

In one embodiment, the merchant then provides the consumer with atransaction identifier and one or more payment provider locations (block614). In a particular embodiment, the transaction identifier is providedto the merchant by payment provider control 130, such as in response tothe transaction request. Alternatively, the merchant creates or definesthe transaction identifier and provides the transaction identifier toboth the consumer and the payment provider. In such cases, theidentifier may include a receipt number, an invoice number, an ordernumber, or the like, each with a variety of alpha-numeric and/or othercharacters.

The consumer then provides a payment to payment provider 130 using thetransaction identifier (block 616). This may involve, for example, theconsumer physically entering the business establishment or locationwhere payment provider control 130 is located, and tendering payment topayment provider control 130 or an operator who operates paymentprovider control 130. In some embodiments, the consumer must provideidentification that matches that contained in the transaction request.This may be particularly important, for example, when the goods beingpurchased have a legally defined age requirement (e.g., tobaccoproducts, alcohol, firearms, or the like).

In some embodiments, the merchant holds the consumer information inmerchant database 145. In such a case, the merchant may provide thetransaction identifier to the consumer and payment provider control 140.This may be particularly useful for consumers who wish to remainanonymous with respect to the payment provider. In this embodiment, theconsumer provides the transaction identifier to payment provider control130. Payment provider control 130 associates the transaction identifierwith the merchant's transaction request to determine the amount theconsumer must tender. In this manner, the consumer identity and/or thegoods and services being provided need not be known to the paymentprovider. The payment provider database indicates that someone with aparticular transaction identifier must pay a specified sum of money.

Once the consumer has provided the payment associated with thetransaction identifier, the merchant is notified that payment has beenmade (block 618). This notification may occur in a variety of ways,including for example, by an electronic notification from paymentprovider control 130 to merchant control 140. This notification mayrequire an inquiry from merchant prior to notification, or alternativelyoccur without a merchant inquiry. The merchant, upon being notified thatpayment has been made, is available to provide the service and/or goodsto the consumer (block 620).

In accordance with the methods described in conjunction with FIG. 6,consumers, including unbanked consumers have a method for making paymentfor goods or services in a timely manner. For example, the entiretransaction shown in flow diagram 600 may take only a few minutes orhours to complete. Further, the consumer may have multiple paymentprovider locations at which they can conveniently make payment. Forexample, if the consumer has limited mobility, or means oftransportation, a payment provider location in close proximity to theconsumer's residence or place of business would be desired. Further, themerchant stages a transaction as shown in blocks 612 and 614, whichfacilitates the ease of payment by the consumer upon the consumer'sarrival at the payment provider location.

The embodiment depicted in FIG. 6 will find a wide range of uses in theprivate and commercial sector. By way of example, the consumer may beviewing a televised shopping network (TSN) program or info-mercialhaving an item the consumer desires to purchase. Typically in thesescenarios, the consumer contacts the TSN by telephone to order theproduct. If the consumer has a credit card, the shopping network acceptsa credit card payment via the telephone and, upon confirmation from thecredit card company or ACH, ships the goods to the consumer.

For consumers who do not have a credit card or desire another form ofpayment, the shopping network must wait for payment to arrive physicallyby check, money order, cash or the like. Payment from such consumers mayarrive several days after the televised broadcast or info-mercialpromoting the good. For transactions which proceed without complication,this may be an acceptable form of payment for the TSN. However, thelikelihood the consumer may have “buyer's remorse” can increase thelonger it takes for the consumer to pay for the good. Hence, it may bedesirable for the merchant to provide a more expedient means of consumerpayment.

In the above example, the TSN would collect the consumer's information,such as by telephone. The TSN then enters a transaction request intopayment provider control 130. Again, the transaction request maycomprise some or all of the consumer information collected, a name ordescription of the good purchased, and a price to be paid. In someaspects, the consumer remains anonymous. Entry of the transactionrequest into payment provider control 130 may occur, for example, byentering the request into POS device 110 as previously described. TheTSN then provides the consumer with a transaction identifier, and one ormore payment locations. The consumer would make payment at the paymentprovider location. The payment provider control then notifies the TSNthat payment has been received and the consumer may take possession orreceive the purchased goods.

In a particular embodiment more fully detailed below, the transactionrequest also may include a time limit by which the consumer must makepayment. The transaction request would include this time limit sopayment provider control 130 could determine if the consumer timelypaid.

Another example of the usefulness of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 willnow be described. In some circumstances, unscrupulous consumers havebeen known to order the same item from multiple merchants or sources,all to be shipped to the consumer and paid for in a collect-on-delivery(COD) fashion. The consumer then pays the merchant who first providesthe requested good or service. The later arriving goods or services arerejected by the consumer upon delivery. As a result, one or moremerchants who are not the first merchant to provide the good or servicedo not receive payment. These merchants also typically have incurredexpenses related to packaging, shipping, and/or insuring the shippeditem.

The method as shown in FIG. 6 will reduce or alleviate this concern formerchants, and may be particularly useful for merchants that transactbusiness via the telephone, the internet, and the like. As shown in FIG.6, the good or service is not provided by the merchant until themerchant receives a confirmation that payment has been received by thepayment provider.

Another embodiment of the present invention is depicted in FIG. 7 asmethod 700. In this embodiment, the consumer agrees to purchase aservice(s) and/or a good(s) from a merchant (block 710). The merchantstages the transaction using POS device 110 and obtains a transactionunique identifier (ID) (block 712). In one embodiment, this transactionis staged in a similar fashion as described in conjunction with priorFigures. In one embodiment, the merchant obtains desired informationfrom the consumer, possibly for entry into payment provider control 130or merchant control 140. The merchant provides the consumer with thetransaction unique ID and one or more payment locations (block 714). Themerchant may, but need not, obtain the transaction ID from paymentprovider control 130. The consumer then effectuates payment at thepayment location of choice. Payment is associated with the transactionunique ID which the consumer, in one embodiment, provides at the paymentlocation (block 716). In this manner, payment provider control 130associates the payment with the transaction unique ID. The transactionunique ID may have a transaction profile associated with it containingnecessary information, such as a description of the goods or service tobe provided by the merchant.

In one embodiment, a portion or all of the transaction ID corresponds toa particular consumer. For example, in one embodiment a first portion ofthe transaction ID identifies or is unique to a particular consumer, anda second portion of the ID changes from transaction to transaction. Themerchant, payment provider system, and/or the consumer may view or haveaccess to data, including historical data related to the consumer. Suchdata may include, for example, prior payments made; past transactionsexecuted by the consumer, grouped either globally, by merchant, or thelike; future payment schedules, such as may be required for installmentpurchases; information on late payments, non-payments or other defaults;and a myriad of other data. In this manner, the merchant, paymentprovider system and/or the consumer may track, view or searchtransaction data associated with the consumer, based at least in part onthe transaction ID. It will be realized by those skilled in the art thatthe consumer portion of the transaction ID also may be a separateidentifier, and may be required to effectuate a transaction which inturn is identified by a transaction unique identifier.

Method 700 includes a notification to the merchant that payment has beenmade (block 718). Alternatively, a portion or all of the payment may betransferred to the merchant, such as by electronic transfer to amerchant account. The consumer, in one embodiment, receives a receipt orconfirmation (block 720) associated with the goods or services. In thismanner, the consumer has a physical document or other paymentconfirmation which may be used in other embodiments of the presentinvention.

The method as described in FIG. 7 will have a wide range of uses. In oneembodiment, the merchant is an airline, or other transportation company.In this embodiment, the airline merchant stages a transaction for anairline ticket consumer or customer. The customer makes payment at thepayment location (block 716) and receives the receipt or confirmation(block 720). In this embodiment, the receipt or confirmation maycomprise an electronic ticket or e-ticket. The electronic ticket maythen be returned to the airline at the departure airport on the day theconsumer is scheduled to fly. In this manner, the merchant or airlinestages the transaction with an airline customer without the need for anintermediary, such as a travel agent. Further, the customer can be acustomer who does not have a credit card and must make payment via cash,check or by some other means. It will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that the customer, in this and other examples, may also pay bycredit card, debit card or the like at the payment provider location.This may be desired from a customer view point, for example, if thecustomer needs additional time after scheduling the flight prior tomaking payment. It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat this particular embodiment is equally applicable to alternativetransportation companies as well as a wide range of other businesses.For example, train travel, cruises, bus travel and the like all may beeffectuated using method 700.

In another embodiment, the merchant is a member of the lodging industry,such as a hotel, motel, resort, or the like. For example, a ski resortcan reserve lodging and/or other activities for a consumer who contactsthe resort, or a reservation service, by telephone or the internet. Thereservation is placed, and the consumer is provided with one or morelocations at which to make payment. Again, this may occur at a paymentprovider location, or at a POS device location. Once the consumereffectuates payment, the resort is notified and the reservation isfinalized. This may involve, for example, sending the consumer anitinerary or confirmation by fax, email, mail and/or telephone. Theresort also may place a time limit on the payment, giving the consumer aspecified period of time by which to pay for the reservation. If paymentis not made within the specified time, the merchant may decide to acceptpartial payment, may cancel the reservation, or the like.

In another embodiment, the consumer receives the designated good(s) orservice(s) in block 720. This may occur, for example, in the event thegood purchased by the consumer includes or consists entirely ofinformation or data. For example, the good may be a description of howto solve a problem, instructions desired by the consumer, a paper orother voucher redeemable for a future good or service, other datapackages, or the like. In such cases, the POS device and/or paymentprovider control may immediately provide the good, service, voucher, orthe like, upon confirmation payment has been received.

Still another embodiment of the present invention is described inconjunction with FIG. 8. In FIG. 8, method 800 includes the consumeragreeing to purchase a service or goods from the merchant (block 810).The merchant enters a transaction request into payment provider control130 in order to stage the transaction. Again, the transaction requestmay contain some or all of the consumer information, information relatedto the goods and/or services, the merchant, and the like. Entry of thetransaction request into payment provider control 130 may be effectuatedby entry into POS device 110, merchant control 140, directly intopayment provider control 130, and the like.

In this embodiment, the merchant desires to place a time limit on thetransaction by which the consumer must pay for the goods or service.This time limit preferably is entered into payment provider control 130(block 812). The merchant then provides the consumer with a transactionidentifier unique to the transaction request, consumer, requested goodsor services, time limit, or the like. The merchant or payment providercontrol 130 further provides the consumer with one or more paymentprovider locations (block 814).

The consumer attempts to make payment (block 816) at some later point intime at one of the payment provider locations. Payment may be attempted,for example, when the consumer provides payment provider control 130with the transaction identifier previously received from the merchant.In this embodiment, payment provider control 130 determines whether theconsumer's attempted payment has been made within the time limit (block818). If the consumer has not made payment within the specified timelimit, the payment, in one embodiment, is rejected and the transactionis terminated prior to completion (block 820). The merchant is notifiedthat the transaction has not been completed. In some aspects, thereason(s) why the transaction has been terminated is provided to themerchant (e.g., time limit expired before payment attempt, paymentattempt with insufficient funds, no payment attempted, correcttransaction identifier not provided, and the like). In this embodiment,the consumer will need to recontact the merchant so that the merchant,if desired, can restage the transaction in order to provide the consumerwith additional time to tender payment.

If the initial payment attempt by the consumer is within the time limit,payment provider control 130 accepts the payment (block 822). Paymentprovider control 130 also may notify the merchant and/or transfer partor all of the payment to the merchant or a merchant account. In oneaspect, the payment provider control 130 contacts the merchant if theconsumer attempts to pay only a portion of the requested payment. Inthis manner, the merchant can decide if they will accept a partialpayment.

The embodiment depicted in FIG. 8 will have multiple benefits,particularly for merchants selling time critical goods or services. Forexample, the airline example described in conjunction with FIG. 7 mayinvolve an airline which requires payment by the end of the samecalendar day on which the consumer agrees to purchase the ticket. If theconsumer does not attempt payment at one of the payment providerlocations by the end of the day, the seat held for the consumer isreleased to the general buying public. The consumer then must recontactthe airline merchant to restage the transaction.

Another example of the benefit of FIG. 8 relates to the televisedshopping network example described in conjunction with FIG. 6. Forexample, the TSN may want to sell a limited number of a particular itemduring the TSN broadcast. Most of the items may be sold by telephone toconsumers having credit card information which is immediately providedduring the TSN broadcast or rebroadcast. For unbanked customers,customers without credit cards, customers who desire an alternativepayment method, and the like, the TSN can stage the transaction as shownin FIG. 8. In this case, the TSN can require that the consumer attemptpayment at the payment provider location in a very short period of time,perhaps within a matter of hours or even minutes. By placing a paymenttime limit on the TSN consumer, the TSN may reduce or eliminateoccurrences of buyer's remorse. The time limit also may assist the TSNin ensuring that all of the particular items are sold during thebroadcast. For example, if the TSN intends to sell 100 identical items,98 of which are sold to credit card customers during the televisedprogram, the two remaining items may be sold in accordance with FIG. 8.In this manner, the consumer may be required to pay for the item at apayment provider location prior to the end of the televised program. Inthe event the consumer does not complete the transaction by making thenecessary payment at the payment provider location, the TSN can resellthe two remaining items without the need for a separate broadcast.

Another example of the benefit of the present invention involves the useof the methods of FIGS. 6-8 for a utility company. For example, autility such as an electric company, may have a delinquent customer oneor more months behind in payment for electrical or gas service A utilitycompany of official, meter reader, or the like may contact the customerby telephone, in person at the customer's residence, or the like, toinform the customer that service will be terminated unless payment isimmediately rendered. The utility personnel then stages the paymenttransaction, such as shown in FIG. 8, and provides the delinquentcustomer with a transaction identifier. The customer then can makepayment at the payment provider location within the time limit.Alternatively, the utility official can stage the transaction using POS110, and accept payment. If the customer is unable or unwilling to doso, the utility may terminate service or take other appropriate action.

In a similar manner, the methods described in conjunction with FIGS. 6-8may be particularly useful for individuals moving to a new neighborhood,city, state or country. For example, a college student moving out ofstate and establishing a residence on or off campus may have to arrangetelephone service or other utility service. Typically, utility servicefor new customers, particularly customers with a poor credit history orno credit history, requires a deposit prior to service activation. Usingthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-8, the utility can stage a transactionas previously described, and provide the student one or more paymentprovider locations at which to render payment of the deposit. Oncepayment has been rendered, the utility service can be activated.

Another embodiment of the present invention may be understood withreference to FIG. 9, which depicts a simplified schematic of a method900. Method 900 includes receiving a transaction request from a consumer(block 910). Method 900 may optionally include reporting the transactionrequest to a merchant (block 920). This reporting may occur, forexample, in the event the consumer is initiating or completing atransaction with a merchant for a desired good or service. Method 900further includes obtaining a transaction identifier (block 930). Inalternative embodiments, the transaction identifier is obtained from amerchant, and/or from a payment provider control. In another embodiment,the consumer creates or provides the transaction identifier.

Method 900 further includes receiving payment associated with thetransaction identifier (block 940). For embodiments in which theconsumer consummates a transaction with a merchant, the payment may bereceived from the consumer or an agent of the consumer. Payment may bereceived at a POS device, a payment provider control location, viacomputer or telephone, or other device linked to a payment providercontrol, or the like, including by additional methods described herein.In other embodiments, however, the payment is not received from theconsumer as further described below.

Method 900 still further includes transferring payment to a designatedrecipient (block 950). In one embodiment, the designated recipient is amerchant, such as may occur if the merchant is providing the consumerwith a good or service. Alternatively, the consumer may stage thetransaction for an alternative designated recipient.

One example of method 900 according to the present invention may involvean individual, such as a college student, who desires a certain amountof money. In this example, the student may stage the transaction asgenerally outlined in FIG. 9 by inputting a transaction request. Thismay occur, for example, by inputting the request directly into a POSdevice, a payment provider control, a computer or other device linkedwith a payment provider control, or the like. The student obtains atransaction identifier and associates a desired amount of funds with thetransaction ID. For example, if the student needs two hundred dollars($200.00) to purchase textbooks, the student may stage the transactionfor this amount. Once the transaction has been staged, the student thenprovides the transaction identifier to a parent, guardian, sibling,friend, relative or the like, who the student believes will be receptiveto the request for money. Assuming, for example, the parents of thestudent will be providing the funds, the parent(s) proceed to aconvenient or designated location, which may include a POS devicelocation, a payment provider control location, or the like.

Payment is rendered as indicated in block 940 using the transactionidentifier to ensure the payment is matched to the proper transaction.The payment is subsequently transferred to the designated recipient(block 950). In this case, the consumer (student) has designatedthemselves as the recipient. In this manner, the student can obtainfunds for a desired purpose in a short period of time and with theassistance of the funds provider (e.g., parents). The transfer of fundsto the student or designated recipient may occur in a number of ways,including by transfer into a student account. Alternatively, the studentmay obtain the funds at a payment provider control location. In stillanother embodiment, the student stages the transaction for the bookpurchase, and the designated recipient is the merchant (e.g.,bookstore). The student then may provide the transaction identifier tothe merchant to confirm payment has been transferred and to obtain thetextbooks.

In an alternative embodiment, a third party stages the transaction. Thismay occur in the above scenario, for example, if the parent stages thetransaction for the student. In this case, the parent may stage thetransaction and also render payment. The designated beneficiary may bethe student, the merchant, or both. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that the above example is one of a wide range of usesof method 900 within the scope of the present invention.

The techniques of the invention may also be used to stage transactionsrelating to travel arrangements and to make payments for such travel.Such travel arrangements may include for example, travel tickets,including airline tickets, train tickets, cruise tickets, and the like.In a broad sense, such techniques could be used for essentially any typeof ticket, including performances, sporting events, and the like. Once areservation is made, the consumer is given an identifier and may then goto a money transfer location or other financial institution, give theidentifier and make the payment. The ticket may be issued at the moneytransfer location or at another location. Such a system is particularlyuseful when the consumer wishes to pay for the ticket in cash, althoughthe invention is not limited only to making cash payments.

Referring now to FIG. 10, one system 1000 that may be used to maketravel reservations and then provide payment will be described. To makea travel reservation, system 1000 includes a ticket reservation system1010. This may be essentially any type of ticket reservation system,such as those operated by United Airlines, American Airlines,Ticketmaster, Amtrak and the like. To make a reservation, a consumer maycontact reservation system 1010 using any of the techniques known in theart. For example, using a computer 1012 that is connected to a network,such as the Internet, the consumer may access a web site of a travelcompany and make a reservation. One example of such a web site iswww.united.com operated by United Airlines. Alternatively, a consumermay contact reservation system 1010 by a phone 1014. In such cases, theconsumer may speak to a live operator, or could communicate with anautomated voice response unit.

When making the reservation, the consumer may give his or her name and adesired travel itinerary. When the appropriate itinerary has beenselected, it may be saved in reservation system 1010. The ticketreservation system may generate a transaction identifier, or recordlocator, along with the amount of payment needed to purchase the ticket.

Ticket reservation system 1010 is in communication with a host computersystem 1016. Appropriate inputs and outputs may be included in hostcomputer system 1016 to permit it to communicate with other systems. Asone example, host computer system 1016 may comprise a Tandem or otherlarge computer system and may communicate with reservation system 1010using a virtual private network, dedication connection, or the like. Thetransaction message structure and protocol may be compatible with thatof the ticket reservation system 1010. Host computer system 1016 maycommunicate with various computers, such as point of sale (POS) devices1018, located at various money transfer locations, such as thoseoperated by Western Union, or other financial institutions. Examples ofPOS devices that may be used are described in, for example, copendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/634,901, entitled “POINT OF SALEPAYMENT SYSTEM,” filed Aug. 9, 2000, incorporated herein by reference.However, it will be appreciated that other computer systems may also beused, such as desk top computers and kiosks.

POS device 1018 may be used when the consumer wishes to make a paymentfor the reserved tickets. Information such as the confirmation number,payment amount, consumer name and the like may be input into POS device1018 and transmitted over a network to host computer system 1016, whichin turn may communicate with ticket reservation system 1010 to verifythe reservation. At the money transfer location, payment may also beaccepted, and an indication of payment may be transmitted from POSdevice 1018 to host computer system. In the case of credit or debit cardtransactions, POS device 1018 may be used to handle the transaction asis known in the art.

A printer 1020 may be used to print confirmation information or areceipt. In some cases, the confirmation may include information wherethe tickets may be obtained. In other cases, printer 1020 may be used toprint or issue tickets. Alternatively, the clerk may distribute anypurchased tickets.

Host computer system 1016 may also be used to facilitate transfer of thepayment to the travel company. This may be done by transferring moneyusing a banking system 1022, and more specifically to an account 1024 ofthe travel company. As one example, host computer system 1016 may sendan ACH money transfer to the travel company's designated bank account.Other techniques include mailing of money orders, sending checks, andthe like. Host computer system 1016 may also post the payment with thetravel company's accounting system. This information may be used toreconcile payments made to account 1024.

Referring to FIG. 11, one method for making a travel reservation and formaking payments will be described. In so doing it will be appreciatedthat the steps may be performed using system 1000. In step 1030, acustomer contacts an airline (or other travel company) to make areservation. This may be done by calling the airline to make areservation, by making a reservation using a web site, or the like. Whenmaking the reservation, the consumer may be provided with variouspayment options, including a delayed payment that is made at a moneytransfer location or other financial institution. For example, theconsumer may be given the option of making a cash payment as shown instep 1032, although the invention is not limited to only cash payments.If a delayed payment is requested, the consumer is given a recordlocator or confirmation number as shown in step 1034. The consumer mayalso be given other information, such as the payment amount, a travelcompany code (such as the name of the airline) and information on thetravel itinerary. Further, the consumer may be given information onlocations (including web sites and call in numbers) where the consumermay go to make the payment.

At the money transfer location, the consumer may fill out a form toprovide information needed to complete the transaction. As shown in step1036, this information may include the record locator, the consumer'sname, the payment amount, the travel company code and the like. Thisinformation is transmitted to a host computer as shown in step 1038. Inaddition, information such as a country code that identifies the countrywhere the POS device is located may also be transmitted to the hostcomputer. In step 1040, the reservation system is contacted to verifythe transaction. By providing a travel company code, the host computersystem knows which travel reservation system to contact. Informationthat may be transmitted to the reservation system includes the recordlocator, the consumer's name, the country code associated with thelocation of the money transfer location, and a currency code of thelocal currency for the money transfer location.

The reservation system validates that the consumer's reservation iseligible for payment and may also check to see that the fare quotedmatches the fare at the point of sale where the payment is beingcollected. For example, the reservation system may check to make surethe reservation was not canceled or already ticketed. Optionally, thematching step may be performed at the host computer as described below.At step 1042, a response is transmitted from the reservation system tothe host computer. The response may include a message specificallytailored based on the country where the payment is being made. Thismessage may be generated based on the country code transmitted to thereservation system. For example, the message may be printed on thereceipt and be specific to customers making payments in France. Thecountry code may also be used to provide a toll free number, localnumber or the like for receiving customer service information(preferably in the country of the money transfer location). Otherinformation in the response may comprise an expected payment in the samecurrency in which the reservation was ticketed, a currency code of theexpected amount, any error messages, a response code and the like. Incases where the consumer wishes to make a payment in a currency otherthan the ticketing currency, a currency conversion may be calculated atthe POS device. However, when settling with the travel company, the hostcomputer system will provide the credit in the ticketed currency. Thisprovides an easy way for the travel company to verify that the paidfunds match the quoted price. In cases where the confirmation number isnot validated, the error message may include a phone number for acustomer service representative in the country where the money transferlocation is located.

At step 1044, the host computer system is used to compare the expectedpayment received from the reservation system with the payment amountentered at the money transfer location. If they match, a verificationmay be transmitted to the money transfer location as shown in step 1046.If not, an error message may be transmitted to the money transferlocation indicating an expected amount as shown in step 1048. If thereis an error, the clerk may re-enter the information as shown in step1050 and then proceed back to step 1038 to repeat the process.

If the transaction is validated, the payment is collected as shown instep 1052. A receipt may also be printed as proof of payment as shown instep 1054. The receipt may include a message specific to the location ofthe point of sale device as previously described. In some cases, themoney transfer location could also generate or distribute the ticket. Inother cases, the consumer may be directed as to where to go to pick uptheir ticket. In the case of e-tickets, the consumer may not even need apaper copy of a ticket. The money transfer location may transmit to thetravel company a confirmation that the payment was made. This maycomprise a money control transfer number so that the ticket may beissued. In this way, the travel company has assurances that payment wasmade and can issue the ticket immediately, even before the money isactually transferred into the travel company's bank account. As such,the consumer may proceed directly to a ticket counter and receive theticket upon arrival.

As shown in step 1056, the payment is posted and transmitted to theairline company. At regular intervals, such as every 15 minutes, thehost computer transmits to the reservation system any payment detailsand posting. Also at regular intervals, such as every one or two days,an ACH transfer of funds to the airline's bank account may be made bythe host computer. Also, a listing of all payments from the previous daymay be transmitted from the host computer to the airline reservationsystem to permit the airline to reconcile posted payments with theirbank statements.

The invention has now been described in detail for purposes of clarityand understanding. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat the examples described herein comprise a small subset of thepossible uses of the methods in accordance with the present invention.It also will be appreciated that certain changes and modifications tothe systems and methods of the present invention may be practiced withinthe scope of the appended claims. For example, a number of forms ofsystem 100 may be implemented in accordance with the present invention.More particularly, system 100 can include any number of POS devices 110,payment provider controls 130, and/or merchant controls 140. Further,system 100 can be configured exclusively as an enrollment system,exclusively as a payment system, or as some combination of payment andenrollment system. Further, the functions of the systems and methods ofusing such are merely exemplary. Accordingly, it should be recognizedthat many other systems, functions, methods, and combinations thereofare possible in accordance with the present invention. Thus, althoughthe invention is described with reference to specific embodiments andfigures thereof, the embodiments and figures are merely illustrative,and not limiting of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention isto be determined solely by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for accepting payments from a consumerfor a travel ticket from a travel company, the method comprising:receiving at a point of sale device a transaction request that includesa transaction identifier that identifies a travel arrangement made withthe travel company and a payment amount; transmitting the payment amountand the transaction identifier to a host computer system for validation;transmitting the confirmation identifier to a travel reservation systemof the travel company from the host computer system for validation;receiving at the host computer system a valid confirmation identifiermessage from the travel reservation system that includes an expectedpayment amount; comparing by the host computer system the expectedpayment with the payment amount; based on the comparison, transmitting avalid amount message to the point of sale device; receiving the validamount message at the point of sale device from the host computer systemindicating that the transaction requested has been validated; whereinthe host computer system is operated by a payment service providerseparate from the travel company, and wherein the host computer systemincludes a set of identifiers forming a database of customer travelarrangements; receiving a payment from the consumer; generating areceipt relating to the payment; and electronically transmitting atleast a portion of the payment to the travel company.
 2. The method asin claim 1 further comprising storing a record of the payment and theassociated transaction request in a database.
 3. The method as in claim1 further comprising contacting an airline reservation system to stagethe transaction and obtain the transaction identifier and the paymentamount prior to receiving the transaction request at the point of saledevice.
 4. The method as in claim 1 further comprising transmitting tothe travel company a confirmation that the payment was made by theconsumer.
 5. The method as in claim 1 wherein sending at least theportion of the payment to the travel company comprises electronicallysending at least the portion of the payment to an account of the travelcompany.
 6. The method as in claim 3 further comprising electronicallytransmitting from the host computer system to the travel reservationsystem a request to validate the transaction request.
 7. The method as 6further comprising receiving from the travel reservation system aresponse to the request to validate the transaction, wherein theresponse includes an expected payment, and further comprising comparingat the host computer system the expected payment with the paymentamount.
 8. The method as in claim 7 wherein the valid amount message istransmitted from the host computer system to the point of sale device ifthe expected payment matches the payment amount.
 9. The method as inclaim 8 wherein the valid amount message further includes the expectedpayment in a currency where the point of sale device is located.
 10. Themethod as in claim 8 wherein an error message is transmitted to thepoint of sale device if the expected payment does not match the paymentamount, and further comprising re-entering the payment amount at thepoint of sale device.
 11. The method as in claim 1 further comprisingproviding a confirmation to the consumer after the receiving thepayment.
 12. The method as in claim 11 wherein the confirmationcomprises a paper receipt.
 13. The method as in claim 11 wherein theconfirmation comprises a travel ticket.
 14. The method as in claim 1wherein the transaction request further includes the consumer's name.15. A method for facilitating a payment from a consumer for traveltickets sold by a travel company, the method comprising: receiving at ahost computer system from a point of sale device a transaction requestthat includes a confirmation identifier and a payment amount generatedby a travel reservation system that relates to a travel arrangement madewith the travel company, wherein the host computer system is operated bya payment service provider separate from the travel company, and whereinthe host computer system includes a set of identifiers forming adatabase of customer travel arrangements; transmitting the confirmationidentifier to the travel reservation system from the host computersystem for validation; receiving a valid confirmation identifier messagefrom the travel reservation system that includes an expected paymentamount; comparing by the host computer system the expected payment withthe payment amount; and based on the comparison, transmitting a validamount message to the point of sale device and generating a receipt forthe payment.
 16. A method as in claim 15, further comprisingtransmitting an error message to the money transfer location is theexpected payment is different from the payment amount.
 17. A method asin claim 15, further comprising receiving at the host computer system anindication that the payment amount has been received at the moneytransfer location, and transmitting a request to electronically transferat least a portion of the payment amount to an account of the travelcompany.
 18. A method facilitating a payment from a consumer for traveltickets sold by a travel company, the method comprising: receiving areservation request for a travel arrangement offered by a travelcompany; storing a reservation in a travel reservation system thatincludes a confirmation identifier and a ticket price; receiving aconfirmation identifier from a host computer system along with a requestto validate the confirmation identifier, wherein the host computersystem is operated by a payment service provider separate from thetravel company, and wherein the host computer system includes a set ofidentifiers forming a database of customer travel arrangements;transmitting from the reservation system to the host computer system anexpected payment that is associated with the received confirmationidentifier, wherein the expected payment is to be paid at a paymentservice provider location operated by the payment service provider;comparing by the host computer system the expected payment with apayment amount; and based on the comparison, transmitting a valid amountmessage to the point of sale device and generating a receipt for thepayment.
 19. A method as in claim 18, further comprising receiving acountry code from the host computer system and transmitting to the hostcomputer system customer service information related to the countrycode.
 20. A method as in claim 18, further comprising receiving acurrency code at the reservation system and transmitting to the hostcomputer system the expected payment in a currency corresponding to thecurrency code.
 21. A host computer system for facilitating payments froma consumer to a travel company for a travel ticket issued from a travelcompany, the system comprising: a processor; an input device; an outputdevice; and a storage medium, wherein the storage medium includesinstructions executable by the processor to: receive from a moneytransfer location using the input device a transaction request thatincludes a confirmation identifier and a payment amount generated by atravel reservation system that relates to a travel arrangement made withthe travel company; transmit the confirmation identifier using theoutput device to the travel reservation system for validation; receive avalid confirmation identifier message from the travel reservation systemthat includes an expected payment amount, wherein the expected paymentamount is made at a payment service provider location separate from thetravel company; compare the expected payment with the payment amount;and based on the comparison, transmit a valid amount message to themoney transfer location transmit a validation to a money transferlocation if the expected payment is the same as the payment amount.